Pune whiz-kid develops website to report corruption, fight graft

A 14-year-old whiz-kid in the city, who is a follower of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, has developed a website to report corruption easily by sending an email or an SMS.

Aditya Palnitkar (14) is a standard X student at Abhinava Vidyalaya, Pune. He told DNA he is fan of Anna Hazare and the website http://corruptionfree.in is a tribute to countless other crusaders who are fighting to free India of corruption.

Citizens can report corruption via SMS, email or Twitter without even visiting the website. Citizens can simply use their cellphone to send a detailed report via SMS to 8446324670 or email@corruptionfree.in.

In the report, citizens should include information such as city, location, amount, name of the person involved and any other relevant details. Attaching pictures and videos is encouraged. The email addresses and phone numbers of citizens are kept confidential to protect their identity.

Corruption reports are instantly visible on pages for each city. He said that the website will make it possible for students and citizens to report cases of bribery, cheating, overcharging, forcible donations, extortion, scams and harassment in government offices by simply using their cellphones.

Reports will be made available to media and enforcement authorities so that they can take action. “I believe that to reduce corruption, citizens should be able to easily report corruption,’’ he said.

Aditya loves aviation, books and writing. He has travelled to more than 24 countries and can imitate over 18 accents. He is the author of Amazing Airlines, a book on aviation for teenagers, scheduled for publishing in the US in January 2012.

Aditya won Horlicks Wizkids 2011, which was held in the city on September 23. He has developed the website as part of the competition.

After a written round, an interview and a discussion, eight finalists were selected go through a round of introduction, showcasing their talent in a minute and the judge’s
question round.

The contestants were judged on the basis of extra-curricular activities, talent and speaking abilities. He has received sponsorship of Rs85,000 from four sources:  Persistent Systems, Airtight Networks, Pari Robotics and Renu Electronics.